quest/src/epistolary/00046.md

---
title: 00046
created: Thu, 22 Dec 2022 12:36:07 -0700
updated: Thu, 22 Dec 2022 12:36:10 -0700
syndicated: yes
public: yes
---
### 00046 {#00046}

> Ah so I suppose those Toques were being honest then, there was a
> Ginnarak crystal, and I guess they were going to give it to us.. oh
> well, nothing good in life comes easy.
> 
> Alex cranks the dial on the sunspoke, grabs the hemogoblin from the
> basket, and jumps out of the balloon and onto the deck of the ship.
> He rushes over to the nearest pile of bundled rope and barrels and
> stows his new hemo friend. "Just stay hidden little guy, let me
> take care of these pirates first."
> 
> Alex grabs the dagger from his side as he makes his way towards the
> side of the ship, first thing first, best to cut the mooring lines
> and zip lines. The static clawing sensation appears at the back of
> Alex's mind, but he attempts to ignore it. There's too much that
> needs to be done too quickly, and he's all too aware of the danger
> he's put himself in. "What would Corraidhin do.." Alex thinks to
> himself, "perhaps a spell?".
> 
> ```lua
> function target:new(obj, tbl)
>   obj = obj or {}
>   setmetatable(obj, self)
>   self.__index = self
>   self.x = 0
>   self.y = 0
>   self.speed = 0
>   reutrn obj
> end
> 
> function target:yeet()
>   self.x = 100
>   self.y = 100
>   self.speed = 50
>   return self
> end
> ```
> 
> After preparing the spell Alex makes his way towards the guard rail
> ready to cut the mooring and zip lines, spell at the ready should
> an enemy appear. 

You crank the dial to 11. The sunspoke squeals in delight and burns
like a tiny star. You grab the hemogoblin, who chirrups and clings
tightly to you, and leap from the balloon onto the deck of the
airship.

You think you can hear---barely audible---the sunspoke singing a song
of homecoming as the hot air balloon continues to rise unpiloted up
toward the sun.

You rush over to cover behind a barrel, and deposit your new
hemogoblin friend safely inside the center of a large coil of rope.
It looks up at you quizzically, but nods when you tell it to stay
put.

You invoke the powers of the moon and prepare a quick but (hopefully)
sufficient Spell of Yeeting.

<!--
Alex rolls Do Anything 1 to cut the lines and avoid detection
6 = Great Success! Level Up!
//-->

When you draw the dagger, the world develops a faint static
background noise which is easy enough to ignore at the moment given
the state of things. You dash forward and start sawing at the thick
mooring lines. The dagger's ruby hilt flashes in the sunlight as you
work, and in your mind's eye you see a bright red wine, and a drop of
blood red ink flowing from the nib of a fountain pen.

You shake the images from your head just as you finish sawing through
the rope. A Cyberplasm who was shimmying back up the rope from the
hotel to the ship yelps as the line goes slack and swings back into
the side of the cliff. The pirate rebounds from the impact, bounces
off the mountainside a few times, and falls from view as it
disappears through the clouds below.

The ship drifts lazily, rising slightly, and despite your best
sneaking around, the remaining Cyberplasms on board cannot help but
notice that the ship is no longer tethered. You successfully hide
behind a barrel as three cyber ghost pirates come rushing over to the
ship railing and lean over, looking below at where there are no
longer any ropes attaching the ship to the hotel.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see the hemogoblin toddling
across the deck toward the Cyberplasms, no doubt curious about what
they're looking at over the side of the ship.

> "Indeed, Bread, it's me. You have not yet escaped your fate of
> untraceable disappearance just yet." Inky deadpans, then smiles.
> "We have much to discuss, but later. I do need a guide … to your
> hotelier. Presumably I will find them by following the racket and
> trail of ruined decor, but maybe you know of a quicker route?"

Bread smiles at the threat of being untraceably disappeared, mostly
confident that they are on the inside of a private little joke and
that they are presently in no actual danger from Inky. They grip
their hammer a little tighter nonetheless.

Confidence slips their trowels into their apron. "Yes, this way!"

They hurry down the hall. You know you're going the right way because
tattered, torn, charred books litter the ground in increasing
numbers. Bits of paper and ash fall like snow.

Confidence guides you away from the entrance to the library's Great
Hall, and takes you instead to a smaller, more discreet staff
entrance. They open the door a crack, and as you look through you are
just in time to see the ship captain with their cybernetic leg, arm
canon, and eye. Now that the crew have cleared the way for them, they
stroll across the library over piles of fallen, damaged books.

A thin bald man with a neatly trimmed mustache is on the other side
of the hall, his back turned to the pirate. He wears a fine suit and
has just finished unlocking a glass display case. He retrieves a
multifaceted blue and gold stone and hugs it to his chest with both
arms. He throws a panicked glance over his shoulder at the slowly
approaching pirate, and turns to run away. His retreat is halted by a
small explosion at his feet. He skids to a stop and looks back at the
pirate, who is lowering their arm canon.

"The crystal," the captain demands in a voice part ghostly moan, part
mechanical drone. "Hand it over, hotelier." It steps closer. "Mother
has promised us new bodies if we deliver the quintessence. You won't
be permitted to stand in our way."

One pirate near the breach tucks a couple volumes of manhwa under its
arm and climbs out onto the mooring line, returning to the ship with
its plunder. It howls as the line suddenly goes slack, flinging the
pirate and its comics into the mountainside, and then out into space.

Sunlight pours into the library from outside as the shadow of the
airship shifts as it starts to drift, suddenly unmoored.

WHAT DO YOU DO

[www](https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00231.html)